


A Court of Frosty Bitches

by Illyrian_Nights



Category: A Court of Thorns and Roses Series - Sarah J. Maas
Genre: Angst, F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-01-04
Updated: 2018-01-04
Packaged: 2019-02-28 10:37:07
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 553
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13269681
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Illyrian_Nights/pseuds/Illyrian_Nights





	A Court of Frosty Bitches

          Cassian’s muscles ached as he collapsed onto the grass besides Nesta. Amren had been giving him shit about his physique since his encounter with the king and he felt it in his training sessions. Clad in a fitted gray dress, Nesta said nothing as they watched the sun set in silence. She had said little since watching her father slaughtered. Whatever stayed her tongue also weighed heavily on her shoulders. Despite her current silence, Cassian still held onto the memories of her screaming for him. Her hoarse voice burned the back of his mind. No one had ever said his name like that.

_           CASSIAN. _

_           CASSIAN. _

          He could not place the emotion behind her voice. Not hate nor affection. Anger nor desire. What was it?

          He turned to Nesta, drinking in the sight of her impassive face illuminated by the lowering sun. Her mouth was set and eyes hard, as she turned to look back at him.

          “Is there something you need?” 

          There was nothing in her voice. Even the usual fierce, biting tone would have been welcome in place of this...vacuum of life. Perhaps she was broken like Feyre had been after Amarantha. But where Feyre’s shattered soul had manifested itself in everything from her skeletal body to her dead eyes, Nesta looked the same but she was just... gone. Cassian felt powerless. He hated watching as the people he loved were dragged down into the trenches of misery. Since Rhys left for Under the Mountain, he had never wanted to sit and remain idle while others suffered. 

          Yet here he was watching Nesta hide her heart from the world once more. Before, he had been content to tease and pull at her. It was too easy. Now, he didn’t know how to needle her because the fiery shield around her heart had been extinguished. 

          But extinguished by what? The death of her father? Hadn’t he been assumed dead for those long months away, anyways? Had they even been close? Sharply inhaling through his nose, Cassian rubbed his eyes. He didn’t know how or what to make of the Archeron family dynamics when he had grown up with nobody save Rhys, Mor, Amren, Az, Feyre- they were family but by bond. How were you supposed to feel about someone tied to you by blood? Heart-heavy and bone-tired, Cassian stood to leave Nesta. 

          “Cassian.” Nesta spoke sharply. “Stay.” She did not look at him but her voice softened. “I… I do not know how to be. Right now. I don’t-I’m sorry.” In a moment of rare vulnerability, she reached out for his hand. Cassian took her hand and gently sat next to her again. 

          “Is there anything you need?” 

          “I don’t want to be by myself right now.” And so he sat and held her hand as the night settled in. 

* * *

 

          Hours later, Cassian awoke to Nesta’s gentle prodding. He had fallen asleep on the soft grass. 

          “Go to bed, Cassian.” Nesta stood and tried to smile at him before walking into the house. He sighed at the aching in his body as he managed to stand. He paused at the door. The warrior’s mind was cloudy and muddled by exhaustion but he seemed to realize something before stepping into the silent house. Whatever thought he had was swallowed by the watching night.


End file.
